After washing your potato and piercing its skin a few times with a fork, bake in the oven for 45 (sweet potatoes) to 60 minutes (baking potatoes). (Note: you can bake them directly on the rack, though I suggest placing a sheet of tinfoil on the lower rack/or bottom of the over to catch any burnable juices from sweet potatoes)

During this time, organize your mix-ins and toppings, as well as the butter and cream of your choice.

Test that the potato is done by piercing with a fork – the fork should be able to easily go into the center.

Carefully remove the potato with an oven mitt and allow it to cool for at least 10 minutes.

Once cool enough to handle, slice the potato according to your serving preferences and CAREFULLY scrape the internal flesh into a bowl, as to not rip the skins. Set the skins aside.

You may want to leave a thin layer of flesh with the skin for a sturdy “bowl” for the filling. As you can see, I broke once of my potato skins, which just makes things a little bit more messy.